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Today's Family Magazine

My teens have it better than I did in the ’80s

Most kids today probably have never even seen an actual payphone!

By Cheryl Maguire
 
“I’m so jealous of you!”

That was me speaking, not my teen.  We signed up for a music subscription service and within minutes she had all the latest hits on her iPhone playlist.  I was in awe but also jealous of her easy access to music.  As a teen growing up in the ’80s, I would have loved to have the ability to listen to a song of my choosing within seconds.  Even though technology can have its downfalls, I’m envious of all the ways my teen will have it better than I did growing up.
 

Music

Me in the ’80s:  I loved all types of music.  One of my favorite things to do was create a mix tape.  Using my dual cassette boombox, I recorded a mix of songs onto a cassette tape to later play on my yellow waterproof Sony Walkman player.  Sometimes it would take over a week just to make one mix tape.

If I didn’t own the album, I waited for the song to come on the radio and record it onto the cassette tape which often had a little bit of the DJ introducing the song or the song cut off at the end.  If I wanted to change a song, I would have to rewind the tape and record over it which would really only work for the last song since you would end up recording over other songs.  Mostly you are stuck with it.

As you can see it was a cumbersome, elaborate process that by the time you were done making a mix tape you were sick of most of the songs and ready to make another one.

My Teen Now:
  Within seconds she downloads 20 songs onto a playlist to her phone which she can bring with her anywhere.  If she becomes tired of a song, clicking delete will eliminate it instantly or she can hit next to forward to the next song without waiting for the tape to move along or without trying to figure out how long to fast forward until the song is over.
 

Writing research reports

Me in the ’80s:  Thumbing through the library card catalog, I found a book related to my research paper.  I then searched through the library for it and checked it out.  Usually, I needed at least three or four books which meant repeating the process. I then had to handwrite the paper (we didn’t have a typewriter or word processor which I didn’t use until college) and used my mother as a spell checker since I was horrible at spelling.

My Teen Now:
  A quick Google search reveals over 100 different links related to her research topic.  She then types up her paper in a Google Doc using spell check although unlike her mother (more like her grandmother) she is an incredible speller and doesn’t even need it.
 

Making a phone call

Me in the ’80s:  After I finished shopping at the mall with my friends I needed to find a payphone (along with a quarter) to ask my mom to pick us up.  She gabbed away for over three minutes which required me to feed the payphone another quarter since she went over the time limit.  I thought to myself I should have used the collect call trick––when they ask for my name I would say, “pickup mall.”

My Teen Now:
  She sends a quick text from her phone, “Please pick me up now,” without needing any quarters or searching for a payphone or using the collect call trick.
 

Communicating with friends

Me in the ’80s:  One phone in the house and me, my two sisters and my mom was not a good combination since we always seemed to want to use it at the same time.  If you wanted to make a phone call outside of our town, you would be charged per minute.

My Teen Now:
  Everyone in the house has their own phone line and can easily make unlimited phone calls (or Facetime) anywhere in the USA without paying additional fees.  Although she hardly ever makes “real” phone calls––she mostly uses text messages or social media.  I doubt she has ever heard a “busy signal” or understands how great it was when “call waiting” was introduced (she probably doesn't even know what that is either).

 
Taking a picture

Me in the ’80s:  I loved taking pictures, but similar to the mix tapes it involved many steps.  You had to buy film, use it up by taking 24 pictures and develop it by bringing it to the store which could sometimes take a week.  It also could add up costing a lot of money buying the film and developing it.

My Teen Now:
  She snaps pictures of her friends, her sister or the wall without costing anything and gets to see it instantly.

The next time your teen says, “I’m bored,” you can wow them with your stories about how you created mix tapes, needed a payphone to call home or used a library card catalog.  I recently did this with my niece who said, "I know and you didn't even have electricity!," which made me laugh since she really thought that was true.

If nothing else it will ensure you don’t hear the phrase “I’m bored,” ever again.

Bio: Cheryl Maguire holds a Master of Counseling Psychology degree. She is married and is the mother of twins and another daughter.  Her writing has been published in The New York Times, Parents Magazine and many other publications.